Atlantis

Chapter Fourteen

"Faye?"

"Nia?"

Faye had agreed to join Lexa and returned to the Grounder camp, where she found Nia, her old friend before she left for the conclave.

"You're alive." Nia said with her arms tight around Faye. "Where we're you? I thought you died."

"Apparently that's what a lot of people thought. I was in the mountain."

"What? How did you escape?" Nia asked. Faye forgot how talkative the girl could be.

"Dumb luck." Faye said, rolling her eyes at the thought of escaping twice.

"Well, while you were gone I was here training. I was gonna be Anya's second after Tris died, but then Anya died. Oh, you didn't know." Nia said, realizing what she had said.

"Oh, no. I know. I was-I was there." Faye said. "When she died."

"Oh." Nia said, lowering her head. "Wait. How long have you been back?" She asked.

"A while, I guess. Lincoln said just after the Sky People came down the first time." Faye said.

"Uh." Nia lightly hit her shoulder. "And you didn't come find me?"

"Lincoln wouldn't let me. Besides, I would have had to explain the whole I'm not dead story to you so." Faye shrugged as they both started walking around camp together.

"Uh." Nia scoffed, but still smiled. "Does Lexa know your back?"

"Yes." Faye said. "We talked. She actually wanted to speak with me later." She explained.

"Well, then we have until then." Nia said, stopping only to face Faye.

"For what?" Faye asked.

"Everything." Nia said with a wide smile. She already had plans to do everything they did as little girls. "Everything we did before, as child. It'll be fun."

The next thing Faye knew, she was walking through old caves. They passed by the old sign that read: SKYE CAVES. Clearly missing letters but that was what it was called now.

Inside the caves were columns of natural stones, old brick walkways, and bodies of water that were deep enough to mirror the reflection of the cave ceiling, but not deep enough to swim in. 

If they went deep enough down narrow tunnels, they found crystals hanging from the ceilings with fallen nets everywhere.

Old bulbs hung from the ceilings, but the girls used torches, seeing as the lights were old and useless.

"Do you remember hiding from your mom in here? And saying we were out hunting but really we were here." Nia asked, overwhelmed with the sense of nostalgia.

"Yeah. And you always wanted to go deeper and deeper. You once tried to climb down one of the cave walls to get to the bottom. You didn't know where it ended." Faye said, laughing through her memories.

"And racing to the bottom."

"I always won." Faye said with pride and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Not always."

"Most of the time." Faye corrected.

"Eh." Nia disagreed.

"Whatever." Faye smiled. "Remember you tried to bring that boy from Ingranronakru down here? You thought he was so handsome." Faye rolled her eyes at the thought.

"I still do." Nia tried to hide her smile behind a curtain of hair and wall of her hands.

"Nia." Faye laughed at Nia's reaction.

"Oh, come on. He's not that bad. Could you do any better?"

"I could. But I won't. I don't have time for any of that. The cognitive and emotional attachment to someone-"

"It's not cognitive. It's called love." Nia's optimistic tone rang through the caves. "And besides, he's sweet, and funny, and strong."

"So...me?" Faye asked.

"Only muncher more handsome."

"Oh, I'm sure." Faye raised a brow at her friend.

How happy it made them both to return to their childhood. Laughing like children and walking through memories.

"I have to go back." Faye groaned. "It's probably been hours."

"The commander can wait. She's waited this long."

- - -

"Heda." Gustus opened the flap of the tent. "Faye kom Trikru." He stepped aside to let Faye in.

"Leave us." Lexa told Gustus. With hesitation the man left but stood outside the tent.

"I see you're already returning to an old life." Lexa said.

"I've been gone for some time. It's just good to see old friends." Faye said, suddenly missing the informality of being with Nia.

"And get you've barely spoken to me. And when you do, it is dull and formal." Lexa said, letting her hand fall from her sword.

"Would you prefer it be like when we were children. Beating each other until we were told not to?" Faye asked.

"You would never do it anyway. You always drew back at the chance of victory." Lexa reminded her of their training together.

"It seems to be a habit."

"I wouldn't say that." Lexa said before moving onto the real reason she called for Faye. "You're the only one of us to make it out of the mountain...alive. That may be if some use."

"Does that mean a truce?" Faye asked.

"For now. I will do what needs to be done for my people. I hope to have you at my side soon."

"I hope for that too." Faye agreed. She turned to leave and just before she reached the exit, she turned. "You are a good commander. The best."

***

AAAAh. I submitted one of my poems to my first outside market and I already know I'm gonna get rejected it it's still so cool.

I did a thing!!!!!!